An opposition is taking shape online
Unfortunately, most of the tricks that the
manufacturers deploy are very hard to document. It's difficult for a user to
gather evidence that would stand up in court, and multi-year testing of the
product groups would even strain large-scale establishments. The engineers who
work for the large IT companies could blow the whistle and turn into an ideal
source of information, but they usually prefer to hold on to their jobs.
Consequently, the users' protests are
focusing more and more on forums, blogs and Facebook groups. These places
online can also offer solutions that can be used to bring allegedly irreparable
gadgets back to life (refer to the left column). There are a few things that
the manufacturers can do too if they do not want to get caught up in the
whirlwind of these protests. They could voluntarily extend their products'
warranty periods, upload detailed product documentation to their websites and
start selling replacement parts at reasonable prices.
Anti-features &
predetermined breaking points
CHIP is going to give you a few typical
examples of 'planned obsolescence': many manufacturers use these tricks to
intentionally make their products worse than they could have been.
Irreplaceable battery
Irreplaceable
battery
In case of several mobile devices like the
iPhone, you need a special tool to switch the battery.
Result: if the battery is dry, the device
has to go back to the manufacturer - or into the garbage heap.
Plastic instead of metal
Plastic
instead of metal
The plastic gear wheels in digital cameras
wear themselves out a lot quicker than metal gear wheels.
Result: premature wear and tear leads to a
loss of functionality.
Sealed tight
Sealed
tight
The enclosures of certain tablets are glued
shut in a manner that ensures that even professionals cannot open them up
without using special tools.
Result: inexpensive repairs become
impossible.
Inaccessible fans
Inaccessible
fans
Certain notebooks contain CPU fans that are
completely inaccessible.
Result: a buildup of dust impairs the air
draft; heat damage is preprogrammed.
Inferior buttons
Inferior
buttons
Cheap power buttons on monitors lose their
contact too quickly.
Result: many users think the device cannot
be repaired and dispose of it.
Ink-guzzling cartridges
Ink-guzzling
cartridges
Inkjet printers clean themselves too often.
Result: expensive ink is wasted, and
counters prematurely report that the tanks are empty - or lock the printer.
Substandard capacitors
Substandard
capacitors
The cheap electrolytic capacitors in HDTVs
rupture at high operating temperatures.
Result: the failures of these components,
which are only worth a few cents, can render expensive devices
inoperable.
'Smart' battery detection
'Smart'
battery detection
Many camcorders are equipped with control
chips that ensure that only the legitimate, expensive batteries work properly.
Result: affordable batteries expend an
unnecessarily large amount of energy and last for a very short period of time.
